I'm designing a novel that is to be published with US-style spelling, punctuation, etc.

I've noticed in some US novels I've read recently that they tend not to have the first paragraph of a chapter set full out but indent it the same as the others. Is that the standard way of doing it your side of the pond?

What about the first paragraph after a line space? Is that normally set full out or indented?

And what about line space markers or decorations? We normally only use them when a line space is the last or first line of a page. Is that the normal method in the US as well?

I don't know if this novel is any good or not as I haven't read it yet but I think the publisher is hoping it will sell well in the US. It's set in Juáraz and is set against the background of the murdered women which, the author says, have been overshadowed in recent years by the general level of violence there.